Middle and Late Bronze Age Metal Tools from the Aegean, Eastern ...

The tool type is common in Anatolia (Table 4.4), where it may have originated—
possibly in the Cilicia region as suggested by Maxwell-Hyslop. 356 The Anatolian series
has parallels with Iranian examples, raising the possibility that the tool was initially
developed further east. 357 It should be noted that lugged axes in Egypt originated in the
sixth dynasty (Old Kingdom) and were common during the Middle and New Kingdoms
as well. The Egyptian versions are easily discernible for they are thicker and shorter than
the examples found in other regions and are unrelated to the types manufactured
elsewhere. 358 All but two MBA trunnion/lugged axes in the dataset are from Anatolia,
and two MBA molds from that region testify to the tool’s production there. 359 Later
molds are also reported from Anatolia, but the mold type is not encountered in other areas
under study during the second millennium. A single MBA Aegean trunnion/lugged ax
(from Mallia) is known; the ax perhaps belonged to a burial near Chrysolakkos and the
object is much smaller (L=5.5; W=2.2 cm) than Anatolian examples. Yet cultural
connections between MBA Crete and Anatolia are indicated by several artifact types. 360
Within this framework, the Mallia trunnion/lugged ax must have been imported from
central Anatolia or at least inspired by eastern examples. By the LBA, the tool was
disseminated throughout the entire study region, yet the sum of the trunnion/lugged axes
outside Anatolia still does not match the aggregate of LBA samples from Turkey.
After Anatolia, the implement is found equally in Syria-Palestine, Cyprus and the
shipwrecks. Eight trunnion/lugged blades were uncovered from the LBA Aegean,
356
Maxwell-Hyslop 1953, 73; Catling 1964, 87.
357
Maxwell-Hyslop 1953, 76-79.
358
Petrie 1917, 8; Davies 1987, 48-50, 53, plates 18-29; Scheel 1989, 47-48.
359
For the Anatolian trunnion/lugged ax molds, see: Müller-Karpe 1994, 199, 204, 206, 212; Erkanal 1977,
6 entry 35, plate 3.35
360
Seals and sealings are comparable between the two regions; see: Aruz 2008; Weingarten 1994. Obsidian
found at Mallia is thought to have originated in Anatolia; see Carter and Kilikoglou 2007.
150